Old Enough to Know Better
by and if we let go
Summary: "We're trapped here, then" "Welcome to the club" she said and the bitter tone on her voice made her heart ache. Somewhat AU of The Angels Take Manhattan.


**All belongs to the BBC.**

**Note: If is there any spelling or grammar mistake please tell me, is important for me because english is not mu first language.**

* * *

"Where are their graves, River?"

"What are you talking about? They are here"

"No, look! They disappeared; they were here just a minute ago. What does that mean?"

River cleaned her eyes from the tears and looked where the Doctor was pointing. No graves… do that meant that-

"I don't know, Doctor" she said and the look in his eyes broke something in her.

-x-

When she reappeared, sobbing and redder than the Doctor's bow tie, she founded Rory a few feet from her. She was relieved that she landed near him and in the same time, she didn't want to think what would have happened if Rory wasn't there to take her in his arm. He didn't turn his back when he heard her, just extended his hand to hers.

She took it and it felt like home.

A thought was fighting to get to the surface, but she repressed. It was no time to be a puddle of feelings, not today, anyway.

She followed Rory's gaze and her mouth was hanging open. A gigantic zeppelin was flying in front of them (for a moment, Amy wondered _how _she hadn't noticed it before), a logo was painted in the side but Amy didn't know what it meant. She scanned their surrounding, but the only thing she recognized was the Empire State Building and the spot where the Statue of Liberty was suppose to be.

"Rory, Where are we?"

She squeezed his hand again, trying to gain some security.

"I-I think we are in an alternate reality," he said as look of afraid covered his eyes. "We are not in our world anymore, Amy"

Silence.

"At least we are together"

"Yeah"

-x-

They were on top of a hill, in a cemetery, the same one they disappeared but there was no TARDIS or River or Doctor. Nothing familiar, really.

The walk wasn't unpleasant but anxiety hung in the air, the last time Amy remembered feeling like this was when she was seven and waiting for a magic blue box. She shook her head and tells herself that she's not that little girl anymore; she's a woman, a woman who can survive this just like the other times. They keep walking hand in hand until there were no more graveyards and a party of black SUV and armed men greeted them.

Rory looked at Amy and she shrugged her shoulders.

"This is the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce; please state your name, place of origin and time" said an amplified voice of a man.

"Uh, we are Rory and Amy Williams and we are from… not here"

Amy wasn't sure if she wanted to kiss him or slap him; maybe that was how River felt with the Doctor. Before any of the UNIT soldiers wanted to shoot them, she explained:

"We are from London, 2012," she said the year they've landed in New York because that was the only one her mind could think of. "Could someone explain why there is men pointing guns at us? Have we done something?"

Rory looked at her with wide eyes, quiet just wasn't part of Amy's personality.

"No, ma'am," the Captain in charge said, he still spoke with the amplifying device. "But your arrival to this cemetery wasn't by the gates, isn't? Down your weapons, soldiers, they don't seem dangerous.

"I could give you dangerous…" murmured Amy, her husband gave her a warning look and she just rolled her eyes.

They followed the UNIT soldiers to the SUVs. The streets weren't that different from those back home (well, Amy didn't knew New York but she was pretty sure that they looked the same), nor the people or the cars either, but the air was somewhat different, not quite the same from her home universe. She felt uncomfortable, like wearing another's people's clothes.

They have to get used to, it was their universe now and the Doctor wasn't coming for them.

The ride was short to, Amy supposed, UNIT oh-so-secret base. They led them to a room where they were interrogated first separately and then together.

"How did you come here?" "There isn't any Amy or Rory Williams on our records, who are you?" "Did you use alien technology to come here?" "Are you from another planet?" "Are you agents from Cybus Industries?" "Are those your real names?" "Where's your family?" "Brian Williams doesn't exist in Great Britain. Neither Augustus or Tabitha Pond from Scotland" "Don't lie to us"

Amy was getting tired of all this.

In the fourth interrogation together, Rory snapped.

"Enough! We are not aliens, we were born in Earth. We don't know how we came here, we just appeared in that stupid cemetery and you lot came and hold us hostage! We are _not _answering more question from you" he said after a quick breath.

That was a side she didn't see much, she liked it.

UNIT left them in their cell for several days, it wasn't really a cell but the purpose was to not let them out. It was white, white and white, like an asylums from movies (at least there weren't mad daleks). The only way to know what time was counting the meals, one at the morning, one at midday and one at night. They served them enough for three people, but they weren't hungry, they wanted to get out.

"I'm so sorry, Amy, I shouldn't have say that" Rory said the third night. They were curled up in the bed, giving each other warm.

"Is not your fault, I was getting tired too, I would have said the same thing" Amy gave him a little smile, which he responded with one too. All was going to be okay.

That night they made love.

-x-

On the sixth day, a visitor came.

UNIT led them, again, to the interrogation room. Her husband was rigid and she could tell that if the UNIT interrogators were going to start again, he was not going to be responsible for his action. Instead, there sat a woman, and for what Amy could see, was very pretty, beautiful even, two soldiers were guarding the door. They sat in front of her and the woman studied them, Rory shifted in his sit uncomfortably.

"Hello, who are you?" she said friendly enough to not seem suspicious.

She smiled and then said, "My name is Rose Tyler and I represent Torchwood. I'm here to get you out"

-x-

The ride back to London was… bumpy, not like the TARDIS but Amy preferred it any day. The zeppelin was slower than a plane, so they got to London nine hours after they left New York; there was not need to say that they were filthy after seven days being prisoners; Rose Tyler allowed them to take a bath in the zeppelin and gave them a change of clothes. It was a relief to be clean again and Amy and Rory felt good for the first time since they arrived.

That Rose Tyler was a mystery she couldn't solve and she could see that Rory was having his reserves about her too. She was pretty, young and seemed to be a person of authority. She had an air of familiarity, something relatable Amy couldn't put her finger on. The crew in the zeppelin respected her and her authority, and was very loyal to this 'Torchwood Institute'. They had no idea on what they were going into.

When they landed, on English grounds a group of Torchwood people stood there watching them very carefully. Amy checked if they were carrying guns, a habit from the Doctor, she supposed. She grabbed Rory's hand with one of hers and followed Rose Tyler.

She sighed.

She wished the Doctor was there with them, even without the TARDIS, he was her best friend and she missed him. She didn't like that he was going to travel along, bad thing happen if there isn't someone to stop him. She hoped her Melody would take care of him, until someone… she kicked herself mentally and kept walking behind Rose Tyler.

Torchwood HQ was a large building that Amy recognized as the Canary Wharf in her universe, she was pretty sure that that building was almost in ruins and wondered briefly why they hadn't fix it. Rose Tyler walked ahead and ordered some young man to escort them to her office in ten minutes.

"Why did she bring us here? I don't like it, Amy" Rory said suspicious.

"I know, but she doesn't seem bad," she said lamely. "Well, at least not yet"

"If this Torchwood turns out like bloody UNIT we have to get out and find a way to contact the Doctor" the determination in his eyes scared her, but she knew that Rory was going to do everything in his power to keep her safe. She was going to do the same thing, she was not weak.

"Yeah. Do you think Kate Stewart runs UNIT here? We can find her and she can help us call the Doctor"

"Maybe, I don't know. We still can't trust her; she could not be the same from our universe"

"I hate this. I hate this universe and I hate the Doctor for living us here!" Rory hugged her tightly and she buried her face in his neck. "And I hate myself for wanting him to save me. I don't wait anymore; I stopped waiting for him long ago" they held each other in silence for time and then she said quietly "I'm sorry, Rory, it was me who wanted to see New York if it wasn't for me, we could still be in our house with your dad and-"

"Shut up, Amy. I love you. We are in this together, remember? " he showed her their wedding ring and kissed her softly.

She was definitely not going to cry but she felt like she could.

-x-

Rose Tyler's office was like most offices: big, with large windows, a desk a library and chairs (okay, maybe Amy didn't know what real offices supposed to look like or if it looked like the ones in their universe, but she had seen offices in those cops shows and she was pretty sure that Rose Tyler was a person of power). Again, she wondered, who was this mysterious woman that apparently was the boss but looked younger than Amy and everyone seemed to respect her, she was certain the power that Rose Tyler held had been gained with hard work.

"Please sit" she said with firm voice.

Before anyone could say anything, Amy asked, "What did we do that UNIT keep us prisoners?"

"And why we were brought here? What is Torchwood?" continued Rory. Rose Tyler didn't flinch at any of the questions, she had been expecting them.

"UNIT kept you prisoners because the energy around you two is unusual and because no human can appear out of nowhere, no without alien tech" she spoke calmly, exposing the facts. "You were brought here because first, you claim being citizens of Great Britain and second, we deal with the kind of energy that brought you to this world. Torchwood is an organization founded to protect the country from extraterrestrial threat," her monotone voice didn't go unnoticed by Amy; she could tell that those were not her words. "And to help beings from other planets return home, or that what I do" she added with a smile.

After processing the information, Amy's head was beginning to spin. There was a Torchwood in their universe? She was sure that something this big couldn't go unnoticed in London, maybe she should've pay attention to her world instead of pretending to have a 'normal life'. She looked at Rory and she saw that he was taking it pretty good, perhaps he always suspected of an organization that took care of aliens in Earth when the Doctor wasn't around, she certainly didn't think it.

"What kind of energy is it?" Rory asked.

"Background artron energy" Amy had a vague sense of familiarity of hearing the Doctor saying this; it was something to do with the TARDIS? "That kind of energy is odd on Earth standards, but in Space and Time is highly possible… there's a mystery about you, on how did you come here and I need to know all."

This woman knew something and that scared her.

"But, why do we have to tell you? And if we do, can you send us back?"

"I'm your only chance"

Rory sighed and Amy knew it was time to let her know the truth.

"We were in New York… from another universe," she didn't look surprised, as if conversations about other universe were her cup of tea. "Then a Weeping Angel touched us, well first was me and then Amy followed me here" now she looked at them like she was seeing them for the first time.

"It was one of this?" she said while she rummaged in her desk, she then show them a draw of a Weeping Angel just about to touch you. Amy shivered and looked at the windows.

She took it as a confirmation and put it away.

"That doesn't say anything about the artron energy and how did you end up in this universe" she said almost too patiently to Amy's like.

"I hav- had a friend, and alien who could travel in space and time with this machine, the TARDIS it was called. We were his companions"

Rose Tyler blinked several times, but did not make any move.

After a long silence, she finally said, "That explains it all. When the TARDIS travels through the time vortex; the people inside her absorb this kind of background radiation, is not dangerous but in some way alters your biology making your antibodies fight better with the diseases.

Her husband's expression was a reflection of hers: confusion, fear and surprise.

Who was she?

"Excuse me, miss Tyler, but how did you know that?"

"I traveled with the Doctor once, a long time ago"

Rose looked lost for a moment and Amy recognized herself there.

-x-

They told Rose (she was no longer 'Rose Tyler' or 'that woman', she was Rose, a companion of the Doctor who knew exactly what was like being away) their story, first Amy and then the two of them together. In return, Rose told them her story, she felt like crying again. A was weight being lifted from her shoulders, a weight that was no longer theirs only. Hopelessness was fighting to be on the surface and Amy did nothing to hide it.

"We're trapped here, then" it was not an ask, a fact.

"Welcome to the club" she said and the bitter tone in her voice made her heart ache.

They would have to rebuild their lives from scratch. Again.

Well, with Rory with her it wouldn't be that hard, she hoped.


End file.
